Harvey residents worry about loss of St. Ville Academy

Worried about the spread of blight and the loss of a link to their neighborhood's history, residents around St. Ville Academy for High School Preparation in Harvey are protesting its proposed closure. St. Ville, which once served as a traditional elementary school but now hosts a program for middle school students who are trailing their grade levels, is one of five sites listed by Jefferson Parish officials for possible shutdown as part of a streamlining push.

Susan Poag/The Times-PicayuneStudents and teachers working at St. Ville Academy for High School Preparation in Harvey in 2009.

The plan calls for the St. Ville students, about 144 of them, to move to a section of John Ehret High in Marrero, in part because educators believe the setting will encourage them as they strive to reach high school.

Neighbors, some who attended St. Ville before integration when it was one of few African-American elementary schools on the West Bank, fret that the change will leave a void.

"It's a cornerstone of the community," said Laurence Thomas, who attended for elementary school and lives nearby. "Everything revolves around the school in some form or fashion."

Along with Thomas, Shirley Davis attended first grade through eighth grade in the 1950s and 1960s when it was called Elm Grove Elementary and the principal was the woman whose name would later adorn the building, Bonella St. Ville.

"She was a task master," Davis said. "She was strict. She adhered to rules and regulations. She loved us. And we knew she loved us. There was not a day that I can remember that I would not see the principal at least two times a day."

If the building goes vacant, Davis worries, residents will lose a historic centerpiece and a safely functioning community hub.

"The greatest fear is that the crime is going to escalate," Thomas said, "that the property will become blighted. Once it becomes blighted, it becomes a safety concern."

Clifford Richard, president of the Old Harvey Civic Association and another St. Ville alumnus, said he plans to protest the specters of an empty lot, the rise of dense apartments and the disappearance of any monument to the school's past.

Acting Superintendent James Meza said officials will weigh concerns from residents before deciding on the fate of St. Ville and other schools.

"We want to collect as much information as we can from the community," Meza said. "We want to protect any community interests or historical value."

"There are so many variables," that factor into closure decisions, he said.

The other schools slated for decommissioning as the school system grapples with long-term enrollment declines and persistent financial and academic strains are Kate Middleton Elementary in Gretna, Norbert Rillieux Elementary in Waggaman, Ralph Bunche Academy in Metairie and Waggaman School.

The School Board has scheduled public hearings to gather reactions on Feb. 27 at 6 p.m. at Alfred Bonnabel Magnet Academy High in Kenner and Feb. 28 at 6 p.m. at L.W. Higgins High in Marrero. The board could render its decisions in March.